Operator



Dec. 5, 1939. I J Q VAN RIPER I 2,182,769

DPERATOR Filed May 31, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l JomvC. VANRIPER I INVENTOR ATTORN Dec. 5, 1939. J. VAN RIPER OPERATOR Filed May 31,- 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m IIIIIIIIII 4z s s sz I, F 117 56 v Jon/VG. l/ANR/PER INVENTOR BY 'ATTO E Patented Dec. 5, 1939 OPERATOR John C. Van Riper, Fair Lawn, N. J., assignor to Watson-Flagg Machine Company,

N. J., a corporation Paterson,

Application May 13, 1938, Serial No. 207,645

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a driving mechanism commonly known as an operator, and more particularly to operators provided with means for selectively transmitting power from either of two sources. The' device illustrated and described shows the operator adapted to raising or lowering a link door although the said device may be used on any machine requiring the inherent advantages of its selective type of operation and design.

The general object of this invention is to provide any power driven functional operator having motor and manual drives in combination with a clutch for selective control. Further objects of the proposed device are the improvement and simplification of the construction and operation of operators generally; to provide an operator in which the design and position of the power transmitting elements have reduced the size of the unit thereby making it possible to position the operator closer to the wall or machine to be driven; to provide a quicker and simpler change from motor to manual drive and the reverse operation; to provide a gearing for manual operation independent of the motor gear reduction and readily adapted to a change in the manual gear-reduction to suit the particular load; to provide an operator from which the gearing and shafting assembly may be readily removed or replaced; as a single unit to facilitate construction or repairs; to provide novel bearing supports for the dependent and independent operation of the concentric quil and main drive shafts; to provide an operator from which the motor drive may be detached without interfering with the manual oper+ ation.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in the detailed description when studied in conjunction with the drawings, and

the novel features of the invention are particu larly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings illustrating my invention Fig. l is a front elevational View of the operator. i

Fig. 2 is a left side elevational view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the drive.

Fig. 4 is a. right side elevational view of the same.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, front elevational view in section along the longitudinal axis of the main drive shaft, of the operator mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a side elevational View of the clutch spline.

Fig. '7 is a side elevational view of the main drive shaft.

Fig. 8 is a side elevational view of the clutch gear and spline.

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view of the worm wheel and quil shaft. Fig. 10 is a side elevational view of the dull shaft spline.

Fig. 11 is a front elevational view of the operator with a portion of a link door geared thereto.

In detail the operator comprises a main drive shaft I2 journalled in orconcentric with the (11111 shaft 9 and a splined clutch mechanism for selective manual or motor drive. The power driveincludes a motor I having a shaft 2 carrying a worm 3. Said worm 3 meshes with the worm Wheel 8 which is an integral part of the quil shaft 9. Male splines are fixed to the left hand ends of both the quil shaft 9 and the main shaft l2.-

' The clutch mechanism carries a female spline 4| adapted to selectively mesh with the said quil spline l0 and the main shaft spline [3 at the same time or with the main shaft spline alone.

The clutch gear mechanism includes a gear [4 and a hub 42 integral therewith. An annular external groove 16 is providedon said hub-in which the shifting yoke I! (Fig. 3) terminates. The clutch spline 4| extendsthe entire length of the bore of the gear l4 and hub 42. The aforesaid main shaft spline I3 and the quil spline 9 are equivalent and adapted to fit the clutch spline 4|. Therefore when the quil and main shaft splines are brought into line, the clutch spline 4| may he slid along the main shaft spline 53 (Fig. 5) until it engages with the quil spline Hi. The quil spline I0 is keyed to the quil shaft 9 by means of the key I I and the main shaft spline I3 is fixed to the main shaft l2 by key Hi.

When the clutch is positioned as illustrated in Fig. 5 the device is set for manual operation. By pulling on chain 39 (Fig. 11) the chain sprocket 21 is rotated which rotation is carried in turn through the shaft 26 and driving gear 25 to the clutch gear M; the manual power is then transmitted through the clutch spline 4| (Fig. 5) ,1the main shaft spline I3 and key I 9 to the main drive shaft I2 and thence through the driving gear 20 to the machine to be operated. The force required to move the door or machine manually depends upon the gear reduction provided between gears and 25. Therefore one of the advantages of the proposed design is the ready means for changing the manual drive gears l4 and 25 for providing the desired reduction for any particular job without interfering with the motor drive.

To transfer the operator from manual drive to power drive the yoke shifting handle l8 (Fig. 1) is thrown to the left which motion is communicated to the clutch through the yoke riding in groove IS. The clutch spline 4| is thus forced to the right along the main shaft spline l3 until it engages with the quil spline Hi; this same motion disengages the clutch gear M and manual drive gear 25, thus cutting out the manual drive. In the latter position the power drive is carried from the motor or prime mover I through the motor shaft 2, worm 3, worm wheel 8, quil shaft 9, key N, quil spline l0, clutch spline 4|, main shaft spline l3, and key l9 consecutively to the main drive shaft l2 and the driving gear 20.

To disconnect the motor and engage the manual drive the shifting lever is thrown to the right. As is apparent from the examination of the elements of Fig. 5 a limited movement of the shifting lever would make it possible to have the clutch gear I4 in mesh with the driving gear 25 at the same time the clutch spline 4| is engaged with the quil spline l0. Since the gear 25 is directly connected to the manual drive and the quil spline G is directly connected to the power drive, it is evident that the gearing connecting the main drive shaft l2 to both sources of power may be in mesh at the same time. This feature provides means for facilitating the operation of engaging and disengaging the clutch spline and the quil spline ID. The possibility of trouble resulting from the two sources of power being connected at the same time is eliminated however by providing an automatic mechanical-electrical switch 3| which will be explained herein below.

Since the quil spline IE] will be held in a nonrotative position due to the meshing of the worm and worm wheel, when the motor is stopped, it becomes necessary to rotate the clutch spline 4| until it may be readily slid onto the quil spline I0. Therefore the clutch may be moved along the main shaft spline l3 until the clutch spline 4| abuts against the face of the quil spline ill; then by continuing to exert pressure to the left on the shifting handle l3 and at the same time rotating the clutch spline 4| by pulling on the hand chain 39 (the gears l4 and 25 remaining partially in mesh), the clutch spline 4| may be positioned for mesh and engagement with the quil spline I9. In this position, by moving the shifting lever I8 as far as it will go to the left the manual drive gears l4 and 25 will be completely disengaged and the operator set for motor drive.

In the reverse procedure of disengaging the clutch and quil splines, after a limited movement of the shifting handle H? to the right, the manual drive gears I l and 25 may be brought partially into mesh. Thereafter by a slight pull on the hand chain 39, any binding effect between the quil spline If! and clutch spline tending to hinder this disengagement may be readily released, and the clutch spline 4| backed off the quil spline It] with ease.

To prevent the possibility of trouble arising as mentioned above, when the manual drive and motor drive gearing are both in mesh at the same time during shifting, the cut out switch 3| (Fig. 3) is provided. Said switch 3! is mechanically connected to and operated by the shifting lever l8 through shaft 39. The shifting lever I8 is non-rotatively fixed to shaft 30 which in turn is rotatively supported by the bearing lug 43 (Fig. 1) of the housing flange $5. The switch 3| is adjusted to out in and cut out the electrical input to the motor at a time when the motor drive gearing alone is in mesh. Therefore by starting from the position illustrated in Fig. 5, as the shifting handle I8 is moved to the left for the purpose of changing from manual to power operation, the cut out switch 3| remains open until the gears l4 and 25 are completely out of mesh and the clutch spline 4| in full engagement with the quil spline l0 in other words the switch 3| will close the motor circuit when the shifting handle l8 has approximately reached its extreme left position. In the reverse operation of changing from power to manual drive, almost as soon as the shifting handle I8 is moved from its extreme left hand position, toward the right, the motor is automatically stopped by means of the mechanical-electrical cut-out switch 3|. Therefore, by the time the gears I4 and 25 are about to move into mesh the clutch gear I4 has stopped rotating.

One of the inherent features of the worm and wheel drive employed in the proposed operator is its braking action. When a door, as illustrated in Fig. 11 is raised, the weight of the door is usually sufficient to cause it to drop or close if not held up in position. In the proposed device, when the door has been raised by the motor operation and then the power cut off, the door will be held in this position by virtue of the worm and wheel drive. This is an inherent feature of standard worm and wheel reduction gears wherein power can be transmitted from the worm through the wheel but not in the reverse direction. By the time the operator has been shifted to manual operation, the position of the door can be controlled by hand either by means of the chain pull 39 or by standard braking equipment.

The detail of the mechanical elements and assembly of the operator are illustrated in Figs. 5 and inclusive. The worm wheel 8 is an integral part of the quil shaft 9 which is journalled on the main drive shaft l2 and supported by two roller bearings 23 and 24. Roller bearing M is located between the housing flange 6 and the periphery of the quil shaft 9, and positioned about mid-way between the ends of said quil shaft. The main drive shaft I2 is partially journaled in the quil shaft 9 and in addition is supported by roller bearings 23 and 22. By referring to the description above regarding the operation of the device it is apparent that the quil shaft 9 and main drive shaft |2 turn as a unit when the clutch is thrown for power operation; under that condition the quil and main shaft unit is rotatively supported by the housing flanges 6 and I through roller bearings 24 and 22 respectively. Therefore under the heavy load when the motor is driving the operator the said quil and main shaft unit is supported through the roller bearings 22 and 26 by the housing direct. The driving force or torque is exerted on the quil and main drive shaft unit at a point between the bearings 22 and 24, thereby providing external bearing supports for the driving unit under its greatest load condition.

In manual operation the main drive shaft l2 is partially journalled in the quil shaft 9 and in addition is supported by roller bearings 22 and 23. Since, in manual operation the main drive shaft alone turns (quil shaft 9 remaining stationary) it is rotatively supported by bearing directly on the internal surface of the quil shaft 9 but mainly by the roller bearings 22 and 23. The bearing support through roller bearing 22 is direct to the housing flange 'I; the bearing support through the journalled portion and roller bearing 23 is indirectly carried by the housing flange 6 through quil shaft 9 and roller bearing 24, the latter remaining stationary during manual operation. When the mechanism is being operated manually although the driving torque is exerted at the end of the shaft through gear l4 outside the bearing supports, the load or power transmitted is small compared with the motor drive; therefore the proposed cantilever shaft support illustrated is satisfactory for the purpose.

The roller bearings are all designed to carry thrust, thereby eliminating the necessity of separate thrust bearings. Bearings 23 and 24 are adapted to take thrust to the left while bearing 22 takes the thrust to the right. The right thrust of the quil shaft 9 is carried through bearing 23, shaft l2 and bearing 22 to the housing flange l. The left thrust of the main shaft [2 is carried through bearing 23, quil 9 and bearing 24 to the housing flange 6.

Other purposes of the proposed operator are to facilitate assembly and repair work and reduce the cost thereof. The operator as illustrated is designed as a complete unit and may be readily removed as such from the operated device. Therefore one of the advantages of the proposed design is that it may be readily repaired in its operating position or removed as a unit to facilitate making the necessary repairs at a work bench. By merely removing the driving gear (Fig. 5) and disconnecting the housing flange 6 from the main housing 4, the splines, quil shaft and main shaft can be removed as a unit for repairs. If it becomes necessary to repair or replace the motor I, the cover plate 44 and key 45 may be removed and after taking out the studs 46 the motor can be disconnected from the operator. When the motor is thus removed, the proposed device may still be operated manually as before. i

I claim- 1. An operator of the type described including a motor drive, a quil shaft, a worm gear keyed to the motor shaft, a Worm wheel formed as an integral part of said quil shaft and adapted to mesh with said worm gear, a male spline fixed to one end of said quil shaft, a main drive shaft journalled in said quil shaft, a fixed positive driving gearing connecting saidmain drive shaft to a driven machine, a male spline fixed to one end of said main drive shaft, 2. quil shaft combination radial and thrust bearing supported by the operator housing for carrying the left thrust of said quil shaft directly to said housing, a main drive shaft combination radial and thrust bearing supported by the operator housing for carrying the right thrust of said main shaft directly to said housing, a combination radial and thrust bearing located between the quil and main shafts intermediate the said quil shaft and main shaft combination radial and thrust bearings for carrying the right thrust of the quil shaft to the main shaft and the left thrust of the main shaft to the quil shaft, a manual drive adapted to be geared to said main shaft for driving said main shaft independently of said quil shaft, a female clutch spline in constant mesh with said main shaft spline and in selective mesh with said quil shaft spline, and means for operatively connecting the manual drive with and disconnecting the quil shaft from the main drive shaft, or the reverse, in one operation.

2. An operator of the type described including a motor drive and a manual drive, a quil shaft geared to said motor drive, a male spline fixed to one end of said quil shaft, a main drive shaft journaled in said quil shaft, a male spline fixed V 

